AIBU to want to move to Scotland?

[kisaki333]

Hi, please help me make a decision as my heart and brain are not in the same place.
Background:
DH and I are in our 40's, we have a 6-month old and we are currently in a waaaaaay too small rented flat in SE England.
A while back, we've had an offer accepted on a house (SE England). The mortgage offer is for a 5 year fix under 2% which, by today's standards is incredible. It runs out in Sept, though, so we can only use it for this house.
The house in question is an OK house in an OK area with OK-ish schools. Nothing spectacular and it's about all we can afford in this area of the country.

While we were waiting for our sellers to get a move on with their chain (it's been months), we became convinced the sale will fall through and after viewing umpteen other properties, we realized we can't afford any other house we like around here. So we started thinking about moving to Glasgow where we lived years ago (when we were young and wild!). In Glasgow, we could afford either a superb house in an OK area or an OK house in one of the best areas with the best schools (like Bearsden or Milngavie etc). But to get there we have some bumps:

• DH would have to ask for a transfer from his work. It would probably be granted but no idea when, it depends when there's an opening. Risk is where-ever he gets transferred might not be as nice as his current setup, it's a gamble.


• I would also almost certainly have to change jobs as my current employer wants us 3 days in the office (although I can do my job from home without any issues) . Risk is the new job would probably not be paid as well. I am the main earner so that would be painful but not disastrous in the short term.


• We would likely have to first move into rented accommodation in Glasgow and only after buy a house (very hard to do viewings from miles and miles away and the market is hot there at the moment). Risk is: really nasty to move twice with a small baby.

My head says to buy the SE property (bird in hand etc). My heart wants to go back to Scotland.
A third option would be to buy the house in the SE now and then move up north in a few years. But by then DH will be almost 50 and he's the social one of us two. Really hard to start fresh in your 50's...

I am so very torn. I want to do what's best for my DC and I just can't decide what that is.

So please let me know what you think!
YABU - buy the SE house, Scotland is just a dream which might easily become a nightmare!
YANBU - listen to your heart and go north

The way they’re throwing up houses around here it won’t be long till we’re as cramped as England as sad as it makes me to say it. Also can’t stand the SNP and their constant need for independence, If they get it this time it might not be such a nice place to live (my opinion/concern only)

@Indoctro
England is not 'cramped', don't be bloody ridiculous. Ten minutes walk out of my town in the southeast and there is endless countryside for miles

Having taught in both systems I'd strongly disagree. Can you direct me to the E&O that you are referring to? This is the resource that is delivered by all state schools from early level to senior phase and I can't see where "gender trumps sex".
rshp.scot/

Depends entirely on your budget but there are some really, really good choices. Bearsden, Milngavie, Helensburgh, Kirkintilloch, Giffnock, Clarkston. An estate agent would be your best bet for other commuter towns.

I am an economist living in Scotland and find the whole independence question very stressful. It would be economically disastrous- there is absolutely no question about it - and I cannot unsee this reality but my kids are at a stage of their schooling where we can’t move so I just remember the wonderful countryside we have access to here and try to have faith that the majority of Scot’s will do a bit of research if there were another independence vote and not believe the grade A bunkum the SNP comes out with.

Educational standards are declining under the SNP too, as detailed in the OECD report published last year. The findings were that the Scottish educational system had failed to keep pace with the latest best practice and had no long term strategies or vision. This is something that could be said for so many things that SNP works on. But the hills are not so far away, as are the islands and beautiful when you get there.

I’m an English transplant in Scotland. I LOVE Scotland. I would never move back to England. We go back each year to see family and my heart honestly lifts when we cross back to Scotland.

In a way I don’t know why the two places feel so different but they really, really do. The education system gets a lot wrong here but they do early years really well and the school starting age is later which I think is a brilliant thing.

And I’ve never received any hostility here - just lovely, open warmth, and a great appreciation for my love of Scotland!

Also, the weather - we are on the east coast and the weather is much much better here than on the west. But I honestly think the weather in Scotland is going to become something to envy (yes you can all laugh at me!)
We had a high of 30 this week - much more bearable than 40.

I was waiting for someone to say this 😂

"There are some villages that are quite insular that don't like " incomers" , but that applies to resident Scots as well as English. Takes at least 20 years if not more to become accepted..🤣"

I'm Scottish with a foreign parent who grew up in a wee village and can attest to this! I (mistakenly) re-visited with my ex who was from the Home Counties and sounded it. He wasn't served at the pub..apparently the barman couldn't hear him - multiple times - but managed to hear my quieter voice. I've had other similar experiences with other non-Scottish foreign friends/boyfriends in other small places in Scotland, so it definitely happens. I also know immigrants who have had extremely difficult times due to racism in villages and small towns. It may not be everybody but it only takes a few being consistent to make you feel unwelcome.

And I've personally had no bad experiences, but then I'm Scottish..!

However in a city things are different. Also in loads of villages and small towns there are normal people! Basically it's good to get a suss of places out of cities but in cities the situation is more cosmopolitan/normal.

Watching with interest. I have been thinking of moving from London, after 20 years living in the capital, to Scotland for the past couple of years. The alternative was to try to move to somewhere more ''affordable'' in the South East but this is looking less and less possible.

I am looking for a quieter environment and a better quality of life. Also British but not English :) (originally from an EU country).

Always been impressed by Scottish friendliness and no-nonsense approach and frankly I am done with the Tories and extortionate cost of living here with no end in sight.

Will be travelling to Glasgow and nearby this summer and I think this is when I will make my final decision...

I should have said in my post above as well the climate change issue is a big factor too. I am not a fan of the heat and the sun at the best of times and this week's heatwave with 40+ degrees in London convinced me it is time to find alternatives.

The Scottish Highlands are my happy place and I absolutely wish I'd had the courage to move when we had the chance - now we're tied with ageing parents and teen/tween kids approaching their exam years. Once the parents are no more, and the kids are flown, that's where you'll find me!

I say go for it!

I completely agree with the above, Rutherglen is a shit hole, although Burnside is a little bit better.

A poster mentioned Cambuslang which is where I come from but there is a problem with the schools, too many houses being built and not enough spaces in schools. The area has expanded massively in the last 20 years and they have only built one primary school

@entropynow

I beg to differ it's most definitely cramped . The total land area of Scotland is 78,352km2 compared to England which is 130,279km2. Scotland is home to population of around 5.4 million compared to England's population of around 66 million.

I would love to live in Scotland. My DHs work and my family keep me in the SE though :( can't afford a house down here but in Scotland I could afford something pretty nice! I work remotely as well so would keep my job.

It's definitely helped being in Scotland in this current heatwave. We had early 30s this week which felt stifling. So glad he didn't have 40 degrees!
I'm not a geographer/environmentalist but I'm pretty sure with global warming the west coast of Scotland is predicted to get wetter and it's already far wetter than the east coast

@lazaro Yeah, I want to do what's best gor my daughter. So yes, the weather is shit but I think in 20 years' time Scotland will be like England and England will be unbearable. So I take the weather as a plus...

Is it really that bad education-wise? One of the big pro's for Scotland was I could move to an area with some of the best schools in the country. Say for example Bearsden Academy. Are you saying that might be one of the best in Scotland but it's not so good compared to an English school?

She might want to go to Uni in a different EU country. We are EU citizens so I think she can do that as well (and many EU countries are also free or very cheap). Is the Scottish system not well regarded abroad?

Sorry, I am clueless about the education system as I didn't go to school here... what is "AH"?

AH is advanced Highers- a bit like A level.
For those who say 7-8 Nat 5s are normal, sadly due to cuts several LAs such as Highland are only allowing 6. This means if you make a wrong choice you are massively stuck for Higher choice as you will only be dropping one subject.
AH are not prioritised in our local school and the timetable for those is fitted in after the main timetable for the rest of the school has been organised. This often can lead to clashes and children having to make up time on their own. It’s was certainly the case for both mine.

We are in Highland and ds3 has just sat 8 N5’s.

I think other countries struggle to bake Scottish qualifications as they are less well known. I am not sure they will be necessarily devalued due to the poor education system yet. The decline has only been over the past 10 years or so.

bake = value!

Have you not been following what is happening in Parliament re this?

@Bobby80

Do it now while your DC is a baby. Nowhere is perfect, but you will have a better standard of living with house etc, and almost certainly a better social life. The only downside is the weather is going to be significantly more shite than in the south, and winter days a bit shorter.

Hi OP. In Scotland, degrees are 4 years long and it is possible to go to uni with " Highers" only (exams taken at 16 and roughly equivalent to GCSEs). So the first year of uni, is a kind of broader, foundation-type year, A-level standard year, where they can try out a wider range of courses before narrowing down for the next three years. But because you don't have to do "Advanced Highers "(AH - roughly equivalent to A-levels) to go to Scottish unis, lots of students don't. This means the provision / breath of options for AHs can be quite hit and miss between schools and regions because a school is not going to fund AH courses where there is a low uptake. I can't remember the percentage of students who do AH. In Scotland, but it's much lower than those doing A-levels in England snd Wales.

As you may be aware, Oxbridge have a policy of widening participation in recent years, part of which have been initiatives to encourage admissions from under-represented parts of the U.K. A few years ago, the most under-represented areas were NE England and Scotland. This year, following active measures to admit students from these regions, the offer rate for NE England is now the highest (in terms of offers per applicants, although less apply than from say, the SE). In contrast, Scotland still continues to have the lowest Oxbridge offer rates - possibly because if the low uptake if AHs (which you would definitely need for Oxbridge). Also, a lot of parents of Scottish applicants on the various threads I've been on, were complaining that AHs did not prepare students at the required level of the Oxbridge admissions tests, so the students were disadvantaged.

Of course, this is a long way off for you and obviously Oxbridge is not the be all and end all, but just FYI. Having said this, obviously St Andrews and Edinburgh are fantastic anyway if you live in Scotland and they can go free.